Droit et usages des nouvelles technologies : les enjeux d'une réglementation de la vidéosurveillance

Abstract

Law and Practice of New Technologies : Issues in Regulation of Close Circuit Television (CCTV). Social relations are increasingly determined by information and communication techniques. A better understanding of this expanding field of research may be obtained by showing how regulations tend to alter the techniques themselves. The aim of this article is twofold : firstly, to describe the present context in which Prefects legalise and control CCTV techniques i.e. by revealing political assumptions underlying the law and observing the various simplifications of the problem within secondary norms necessary for its practical implementation ; secondly, to oppose these assumptions and real practices (stated and latent) in CCTV, using examples drawn from field research. This latter approach suggests that organisations equipped with CCTV are increasingly led to emphasise security aspects in order to improve the professional ability of policemen regarding urban insecurity, although this is not necessarily the principal role of these techniques.